Heading back to normality and a routine is one of the hardest but also most refreshing things you can do after a jolly or just a generally turbulent week!
So many people have a MASS come down after a holiday or a weekend or being a social butterfly, but don't fall into the post holiday blues trap!
Now that miserable Monday is over, you've had that longgggg day back at work so take today (or tonight) to restart a routine & get back on track!
The best thing you can do is throw yourself in the deep end ASAP! First chance you get, ensure you're carrying out some sort of normal day to day life! Whether that's a bed time, wind down time, eating, exercise or all of the above in my case!
After returning from Amsterdam on Friday
afternoon I knew I'd flagged with my normal day to day life (as you
bloody should do on holiday!!) but as soon as I got back - straight to the
gym!
There's nothing more satisfying than feeling you've
achieved something & by setting yourself a task to do (mine was to get
to the gym) will make you feel 100 times better & it's also that
springboard to getting your routine back into check!
It's actually the first time I've visited the gym
since I came home for Easter but I decided it was go hard or go home & I
smashed my personal best on my HIIT treadmill & increased my weights this
week!
This really kickstarted my routine as by the time I'd
gotten home, had a shower it was dinner time! A nice home cooked meal, then off
to bed!
After hitting the gym Friday afternoon I was
really motivated to get back stuck into it & my normal workout
routine! So! Saturday morning I hit the gym for a quick abs
blast before going for a 3km run with my cousin Lauren! It rained, but that's
the perfect running weather & we both felt much better after going! So much
so, we're doing the same this weekend! #progress
If you're struggling to get back into the swing of
things this week here are my top tips!
• Plan ahead:
whether it's your food, social calendar this week, work - keep busy, organised
& HAPPY!
•
Inspire yourself:
planning your next holiday? Payday? Look at something you can work towards
& focus your week around!
Sometimes, though, I think you need to have a realistic
inspiration to work from, which is key & recently this is what
kickstarted me to get back to the gym after an indulgent week in Dam!
I find inspiring myself with new things kickstarts my
routines again because you're trying something new, achieving new things &
this gives you a release of those positive endorphins we all need!
As I've said, a huge part to my routine is keeping
fit. I'm not for one second going to pose as a Personal Trainer or fitness
professional, because I'm far from that, but I hope by giving you my simple
steps to staying fit after a fun week will inspire you that you can achieve
your goals even if you're not a fitness fanatic!
It's easy to see all these PTs
looking 10/10 on their social media feeds, eating
'clean' 24/7 then showing you 30 seconds of their workouts &
saying here's the end product.
In addition, in my previous blog posts I'm largely inspired by a girl called Alice Liveing - aka @cleaneatingalice on Instagram (where most people will know her from). The reason she inspires me is because she's your average young girl, just 22 years old, and doesn't bullshit you into thinking you've got to eat well 24/7 and work out 5 days a week to look lean.
The picture below is part of my inspiration - such a normal girl who wanted to get fit & now she's got her own recipe book, sponsored by fitness companies & has her own body bible! There's no BS with her though, she treats herself just like the rest of us, but exercises control in all ways.
Recently, she released an eBook (available on Amazon) called 'Clean Eating Alice Spring Clean' and this is what got me back on track, back into a routine, back to feeling good after a fun week away!
The guide includes brilliant exercises which look so
simple that they wouldn't benefit you in any way..TRUST ME, they
do!
One thing I love about Alice & her motivation in
training is the simplicity of it. Most online personal trainers I've looked at
expect you to have some sort of home gym hidden in your back garden! However,
the eBook Alice released has exercises that are so simple and so easy to carry
out because the only equipment they require are you and your phone (maybe a
mat - but most people work out on soft floor like carpet as well so not a deal
breaker!)
It's that simple - start your stop watch & begin
your work out! The exercises include everything from squat jumps to ab crunches
& they best thing about Alice's guide is that her exercises target ALL
areas not just one muscle group, which I've been taught is the most important
thing when training.
I've found training this way (before finding her
eBook) is much more beneficial short term to achieving your fitness goals
as well as long term because it focuses on working all your muscles at once
& you actually feel like you've worked yourself!
Another training tip to include in your workout is
HIIT circuits. Again, I find this the most effective way of training. Short
time, BIG impact & no excuses!
The Spring Clean eBook focuses on full body HIIT
workouts & that's why she's such an inspiration to me!
An insight into the guide & why it's perfect for
everyone..
- Includes something for everyone: lunges, squats, ab crunches, mountain climbers, plank and glute bridges.
- Targets those all important areas: bums, tums & arms in almost every exercise.
- Make it as challenging or easy as you like, begin with three sets or challenge yourself and
- do four or five..even six!
- You are able to incorporate other exercises you enjoy, for example bicycle crunches!
Exercise doesn't have to be boring! Why not do it with a friend?! Me & my flat mate Charley train at the gym together doing exercises similar to these and honestly, it makes it so much more fun and much more motivating to carry on when it gets really tough!
Aside from Alices eBook I love running, and more recently, since I've been home for Easter I've enjoyed running outdoors again! (Also partly because I'm training for the Race for Life again this year!) It's so difficult to run outdoors whilst I'm at uni as a City Centre is not something you want to tackle during exercising!
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| View from Middlewood Way |
However, where I live there is a beautiful track to run down, bringing you out in a village near me, which has a great route to run down and is a good 4 mile run! The surroundings encourage you to keep going, along with some banging tunes in your ears!
In addition to exercising, my inspiration for returning to a routine also includes food! There's something so satisfying (in my opinion) of returning to the normality of my porridge & blueberries, a homemade chicken & stuffing sandwich & stir fry for tea!
You know what you're eating, how you're cooking it & throwing in all the goodness that you enjoy! What could be more satisfying?! I find this also gives me something to look forward to doing when I get in from work, making the day go quicker & before you know it you're half way through the week! (Then it's the weekend again..yaay!)
If you're not as easily pleased as me, don't fear! There's other ways to inspire yourself! Is there an upcoming event you're looking forward to? A birthday? Reunion? Or even another trip away! Whatever it is use that as a focus to rebuild a normal routine until you can chill out again!
One of the most important things to remember - especially
regarding food - when in a routine is to reward yourself.
Don't skimp around not allowing yourself a
measly square of chocolate or a biscuit, if you want one have one!
You'll feel better for it, otherwise cravings turn into binges!
Another option, reward yourself socially! Whether
that's with a friend over a bottle of wine, a night out with a friend or loved
one or even just a movie night curled up on the sofa! Have something you're
looking forward to & don't forget to incorporate relaxation & 'me
time' into your routine, otherwise you'll rue the day you returned to
normality!
I hope this may have inspired you to kickstart your week the right way this week, but remember! If you had a bad day yesterday don't worry! Just don't turn it into a back week! Pick yourself up & push for a productive week!
Thanks for reading! X
Hahaha, I would love to have time to go to the gym and for a third day I plan to do grocery shopping. ;) I love to eat healthy but simply have no time for this (as a double student). I love the pictures of this woman, the change is amazing.
ReplyDeleteLove, Liliann from
lilianndehn.blogspot.com